Standard of evidence

From Lesswrongwiki

A standard of evidence or standard of admissible evidence seeks to narrow down the type of rational evidence which may be brought to bear on any kind of (partially or wholly) adversarial process, such as scientific research, law or politics. A common standard of evidence is thought to be needed in any such process, so as to avoid a breakdown of useful deliberation. This is the basic contribution of the scientific method and of legal evidence standards.